Today we’d like to introduce you to Octavia Cherry.
Hi Octavia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From the time that I was a young girl, I always knew that I wanted to be an allied healthcare professional. It wasn’t until a close relative of mine experienced a massive stroke that ultimately introduced me to the field of speech-language pathology. I eventually connected with the speech-language pathologist (SLP) who was working with my relative then and began shadowing and volunteering in the inpatient acute rehabilitation center. I eventually graduated high school later that year and pursued my undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. After earning my Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2018, I relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Louisiana State University. I resided in Baton Rouge for approximately 1.5 years before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted my studies, and I was constrained to complete my studies online. After graduating with my master’s degree in May of 2020, I decided to fulfill my clinical fellowship in Illinois where I contributed as a speech-language pathologist clinical fellow.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Genuinely, no it has not been a smooth road. Due to my decision to relocate out of state for school, I had no physical support system. My finance at the time, who is now my husband, was in another state pursuing medical school During the last semester of my graduate studies, I lost two immediate family members within a month of each other. Also, as a first-generation student, it was challenging to navigate the academic system. Two of my main struggles were overcoming financial struggles and guilt.
In my undergraduate, I was like many other students I was relying on federal student aid to support my academic studies. While I did receive some aid including (loans and grants) I worked various on-campus jobs while attending classes full-time to support myself. As for the feeling of guilt, I experienced negative comments from relatives over choosing a different upward mobility pathway to success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Time To Sprout Speech and Language Services is a pediatric mobile and virtual speech therapy clinic in the Atlanta metro area. We are therapist-owned and operated. We offer accessible, dynamic, culturally competent, evidence-based clinical interventions for individuals with communication impairments. We service individuals from birth to 21 years of age. We provide therapy to children with speech and language needs and or neurovariance e (e.g., ADHD, Autism, etc.). Furthermore, I specialize in articulation, language (receptive and expressive), social skills, fluency, speech and language screenings, and comprehensive speech and language evaluations.
We also promote and provide outreach services to schools and daycares in the community. In addition to therapeutic services, we offer individual education program (IEP) consultations for parents who are seeking help understanding their and their child’s rights (parental/ educational).
We are currently known for providing in-home and virtual speech therapy six days a week across the Atlanta Metro Area. We understand the demanding schedules of our client’s parents and how traditional clinical settings may not be conducive for every family. Despite being a new practice, through my experience in working in different settings, including schools, outpatient clinics, skilled and assisted nursing facilities, private practices, and inpatient acute care, I have learned that not one size fits all. There are favorable and unfavorable factors with the educational and medical model. My goal is to and I wanted to bind the two models together to provide a positive, safe space where caregivers, families, and others within the community can learn and bond through their shared experiences.
What makes you happy?
I am most proud of my loving husband who is extremely supportive of my goals. In addition, I enjoy supporting my clients and their parents and seeing their progress.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://timetosproutspeechtherapy.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/timetosproutspeechtherapy
- Facebook: facebook.com/timetosprouttherapyatl
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/timetosproutspeechandlanguageservicesllc
- Other: yelp.com/biz/time-to-sprout-speech-and-language-services-atlanta
